Welcome to my private journal generally on Brunei issues. Any opinions expressed are in my personal capacity. All rights to the articles are reserved.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Sailor on Brunei flagship

From the Lakeland Echo of United Kingdom, we get this news on 23rd June 2009:-

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A BARROW IN FURNESS sailor is playing a vital role as part of a Royal Navy task group leading a major multi-national land and maritime exercise in and around Brunei, known as Exercise Commando Rajah.
It is the first time in more than a decade that such a series of exercises has taken place between the Royal Navy and Brunei's military and it forms part of the navy's task group deployment known as Operation Taurus. Logistician Carla Macaulay, 24, is an administration and pay expert onboard HMS Bulwark, the flagship for the deployment.

HMS Bulwark, an amphibious assault ship, is leading the task group of helicopter landing platform HMS Ocean, Type 23 frigate HMS Somerset, multi-role survey ship HMS Echo with embarked divers from the Fleet Diving Group and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary tanker RFA Wave Ruler.

Speaking as the task group arrived in Brunei, Charlotte, a former pupil of St Bernard's RC High School, said: "This exercise will give us all really important training in amphibious warfare, essentially that's moving our landing forces ashore from our ships and then pushing them further into the jungles of Brunei where we will continue to command and support them from the sea.

"It's important for the sailors to maintain this capability as we never know when we'll be called upon to use it for real.

"It's key for our Royal Marines because they've become much more used to operating in very different conditions such as those in Iraq and Afghanistan. So again, it's vital for them to gain and maintain those sorts of skills.

"This is a great phase of the deployment for us all as the Royal Navy doesn't come to this part of the world very often."

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